


Enter Yoshiya to the Stage

by MilayaMilenZeal



Series: Tokyo Mirage Sessions -FF [2]
Category: Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You
Genre: Acting Jobs, Actor Neku, Gen, Songwriter Joshua, Songwriting, idol culture, singing career
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:29:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22632706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MilayaMilenZeal/pseuds/MilayaMilenZeal
Summary: Kiryu Yoshiya has always enjoyed writing music and songs, first in his home behind a synthesizer and computer, then finally on the set to back up his best friend. The plan had been for this to continue for many more years......But then life came in and threw in an unexpected curveball...
Series: Tokyo Mirage Sessions -FF [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1611346
Kudos: 3





	Enter Yoshiya to the Stage

**Author's Note:**

> In case you missed the first part of this series, this was an idea that just recently came to me. I'm not going to reveal just yet what caused it... instead, why don't you all guess where it came from?
> 
> One hint; it involves a re-release of an old title on the 17th of January 2020.

Joshua had never expected things to turn out this way at all. That might sound cliché to many people, but for him, it was the truth. Life in Japan wasn’t easy for someone who was considered a “Half” anyway, but for him, it seemed that much harder, given how his hair was more silver than it was blonde. He still vehemently believed his hair was more of a light corn blonde, though, but no one cared about his opinion regarding his own hair, it seemed.

He blamed his parents for that, mostly, even though Joshua _did_ also credit them whenever he could for letting him follow his dreams alongside his education like they had. Not a lot of parents would do that these days, he believed. After all, not many would want to see their child just wasting away all their free time sitting behind a dingy old laptop, tapping away and making nothing but cheesy pop songs, as they liked to call them.

They _did_ , however, know he was musically inclined very early on. His mom even swore on her life that he had been bobbing and gurgling to the beat of songs he’d heard more than once when he was a mere 5 months. Which, flattering as it was, he seriously doubted, but he didn’t dare go against his mother’s word. He valued his life, thank you very much.

Still, there was no denying that music was a definite passion of his since he could remember, and his parents only encouraged it. In fact, they encouraged him so hard that they were willing to fund his first instrument... but only one, so he would have to make it count.

Let me tell you; that had been one of the most difficult decisions in his life.

Piano was the first instrument to appeal to him, but then there was the issue of size... plus those were VERY expensive (which even he knew as a kid). So, no, he was going to pass on that.

Violin was next, but then he had the issue that, if you got a note wrong, the discord was very painful, especially that close to your ears. Once again, that made him decline a violin as his first instrument.

Flutes were cool and seemed perfect, at first, but Joshua quickly ran out of breath when playing. Which was annoying, because he’d been _sure_ it would’ve been perfect otherwise.

And it just went on and on like that...

Bass? Too big.

Drums? Too much work.

Harp? Cute, but again, too big.

And so on, and so on...

Back then, Joshua had been sure he’d _never_ find the perfect instrument to play. Which was a hard pill to swallow for a 5-year-old.

You can probably imagine his surprise when his parents surprise him with a _synthesizer_ for his next birthday. Of course, he didn’t know just what it was, since it looked just like a piano, but when his parents told him what it was, he very nearly squealed in joy. Even if he wasn’t that good, yet, the fact that he was given the opportunity to make the music _he_ liked, was already the best present he’d ever gotten (yet).

He loved music, but he loved _making_ it even more.

And all the while, even as he continued his education, his parents let him continue his music lessons to get better at what he loved doing most. Back then, he was sure that he would likely never be able to make a living with making music, but he honestly hadn’t cared. At that time, music had been merely an outlet for him, and he just did it to relax and enjoy himself…

And that was around the time where he heard about the “Uta-loid” program; a voice synthesizer that would allow one to create songs to go with their music. Initially, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to try making songs, because, sure, he was good enough at making music, but songs? Surely it couldn’t be that easy, right…?

Well, apparently that was just him thinking that, as he was soon gifted the first Uta-loid program. And he was more than a little surprised at how EASY it was to use and to make good songs with it. Well, for him, anyway. He was sure many others wouldn’t have it as easy, but for him, it was almost childishly so.

The first songs he made were little more than simple “acapella” versions of his earlier music tracks, but, steadily, he learned to make songs to match his music. Even then, though, he still didn’t think them to be good enough for the general public. They were merely for his personal enjoyment, and that of his parents, of course. Who, by the way, would often tell him over and over that he should really consider doing something with his songs. And yes, he was definitely appreciative of his parents for pushing him to keep going with this.

But, above all other people and things that he would credit, he’d _always_ credit his best friend the most of all, for (basically) forcing him to acknowledge his own abilities. And he laughed softly to himself as his thoughts, inevitably, went back to his best friend.

It really had been just a random chance that they ever met, but whatever reason had brought them together, Joshua was thankful.

Joshua first met him on the way to school, by chance, and he’d ended up talking to him, curious, but he’d been less than receptive to the other boy’s greetings, or anything, really. But Joshua was persistent, and he kept at it, until, finally, he had the other talking to him. Well… shouting, really, but hey, progress!

Even then, though, it took him almost a year of hanging out, just doing random little things from chatting/arguing, to just lying around, staring at the skies, before they were on proper speaking terms, where they would occasionally hang out together at each other’s houses and meet the family (that sounded weird, actually…).

At this point, he also learned of the unfortunate fact that his friend’s parents were gone. Wherever they were, no one knew, and his friend had simply… given up on them ever coming back for him. Instead, he lived with his aunt and uncle, who had their own son, as well as another boy who (while not related by blood), was kind of his brother. Kind of… but not really? Joshua honestly wasn’t sure, but he wasn’t going to ask. It wasn’t his business, really.

What _was_ his business, though – or at least, he _made_ it his business – was his friend’s and his brother’s singing voices. Yes, the Uta-loid program was nice and fun to work with… but it still sounded robotic if you paid real close attention to it. It was just _better_ if it was sung by real people, which was why he had asked them both to sing some of his songs.

At that point, he would, on occasion, post a song or two on the net, which would always be well-received. But even then, he’d never even considered them to be good enough to be worth anything past some internet credit. Which was nice, sure, but that wouldn’t keep him afloat.

Even when his best friend got a job in acting (and a pretty good deal, too), he wasn’t convinced that he could make it.

So imagine his surprise when his friend suddenly called him up, telling him;

“Get your laptop ready and make yourself look presentable! Our producer wants to see you, like, yesterday!”

It was sudden, and he had absolutely _no_ chance to back out, because they were both there within 15 minutes to pick him up and drag him off. And while the meeting went well, he did end up getting into an argument with his friend about the issue for not giving him _any_ proper warning. Not that it lasted long, as that was about when the whole situation kicked in for him and he had a proper freak out about the whole thing.

And they’d been working together after that for so long by now… it was almost unreal…

Suddenly, there was a beep from off to the side and he groaned a bit, looking over to his nightstand. Because, goddammit, he’d _just_ been getting comfortable…

Grumbling a little, he reached over and fumbled for his phone. After unlocking it, he had to squint a bit to be able to read the text he’d just gotten over Topic.

**Neku: Yo**

**Neku: still awake or did you pass out?**

Joshua groaned in annoyance at the simple messages and reached up for his temple to ward off his headache. The damn thing had just gone away, too, so he didn’t need it back. Once he was sure he would be able to type properly, he rolled onto his back and held the phone over his head as he typed.

**Me: I was almost sleeping comfortably and then you had to ruin it. Meanie.**

**Neku: scuse me?**

**Neku: whos the one who demanded i make sure theyre up for the first show?**

**Neku: whos the one going “call me if i dont answer within 5 min"?**

Another groan came from his mouth as he fully grasped those words. Because, yes, he HAD in fact told him to do exactly that… and now he was regretting it, thoroughly.

**Me: I hate you**

There was no response right away, and he could only imagine that his friend was laughing at the simple three-word-message.

**Neku: lol**

**Neku: yeah yeah love you too, ass**

‘ _Dammit, he was definitely laughing at me…_ ’

**Me: Jerk**

**Neku: idiot**

**Me: Buffoon**

**Neku: jackass**

**Me: Poopyhead**

It was only after he had typed that out that he realized that that sounded—

**Neku: wow**

**Neku: mature**

**Me: Shut up**

Despite the “argument”, Joshua was smiling contently. Even though they argued on and off about silly things, somehow it always served to make him smile. It was a weird friendship they had, and very few people really seemed to understand it, but he honestly couldn’t care. Even his parents would sometimes wonder why and how they were still friends, but they were smart enough to not ask him to break it off with his friend. After all, he’d gone a week of no contact with them the last time they’d tried.

Rolling around onto his stomach, chin propped up on his pillow, he then proceeded to chat with his friend over Topic, trying not to make his face stick as they talked about a lot of different things, but mostly about the live show that was about to start on his side.

Even now, after so many years, Joshua was in awe that the show his friend had risen from a small, obscure show, to a blockbuster series that millions of kids and teens alike were talking and raving about on a daily basis. Even if the series only aired once a week, it was an almost daily talking point wherever he went.

And now, after so many years after its amazing resurgence, the 4th season was coming to an end… in the way of a live stage play for its finale. Which also meant that the songs Joshua had made for the show, both the opening and ending themes, would be played by a live orchestra. So, of course, Joshua had been almost as hyped and nervous as his friend…

…and then he ended up getting sick the very day before the show…

He was more than a little salty about that, but there was no way to reschedule it, so he was left at home when his best friend was out there, going on stage, without Joshua there to support him. But above that, they’d both been working on this for so long, and to not be able to see their combined hard work come to fruition… it was both annoying and frustrating…

Thankfully, his friend had offered to stream the show for him, so that, even if Joshua couldn’t be there in person, he’d still be able to see that first show as it was happening. Sure, it wasn’t the same as being there in person, but it would have to do… at least for this one time.

Just as he was about to type out a response to his friend’s last comment, though…

**Neku: gotta get ready**

**Neku: for the 10 min call**

**Me: Already?**

**Neku: dude**

**Neku: its nearly 1030**

**Neku: show starts at 30**

**Me: Alright. Well, better get moving then.**

**Neku: yeah yeah**

**Neku: ill pass ya to H when I get there**

**Me: Why thank you! Break a proverbial leg, dear!**

**Neku: stop calling me that**

**Me: ;p**

Joshua chuckled softly as he moved on his bed, putting up his pillows so he could sit comfortably against the headrest and prop up his knees as well. All while being wrapped up in his comfy blankets. Now it was just a matter of waiting for the feed to go through, so that he could watch the show.

That took a few minutes, and even then, it took a little longer as the producer struggled with properly recording the show. But once he got it going, Joshua smiled and settled in to watch, the phone held securely in his hands.

And as the opening song began to play, Joshua couldn’t help but feel nervous despite not even being there. He was sure his friend was nervous, despite how he claimed he’d be perfectly fine, but he somehow managed to school his features into not showing any of that on his face, and Joshua was impressed. Didn’t mean he didn’t wish he could be there, too…

Either way, as his friend and the others went out onto the stage, and the play began for real after the song, Joshua smiled and snuggled up a little better under his blankets. There was the usual banter between his friend and his brother, and it was just fun to watch them go about it, ad-libbing as they usually did, and everyone going along with it while following the necessary story points as per usual.

It’s almost the same as watching them all perform during the filming sessions for the new episodes, only there were breaks and no do-overs, which, in turn, made it that much more interesting to watch, as they were stuck with whatever lines they came up with.

Really, he’d have preferred being there in person, but… this would do… for now, anyway.

Either way, the show was going just fine, and he was sure it would continue to go fine for the rest of the play.

…

……

………

…it’s funny how life throws you curveballs when you least expect it…

Suddenly there was a crash and some sort of discord of music, and for a moment, Joshua thought it was part of the show, but no. Practically everyone jumped in alarm, and numerous people were asking what was happening. That was enough to cause worry to bubble up in his stomach. Had someone messed up backstage and dropped something? Was that it?

…but then he suddenly realized that Akira was gone…

Which should’ve been impossible, as he’d been standing beside next to his friend, right in the center of the camera.

It just happened so fast at that point, and the camera was shaking and unfocused, as everyone – even the producer, clearly – began to panic and scream… just before there was a flurry of motion and a crash… and then he could see no more…

The connection with his friend’s phone was lost…

…

……

………

The next morning, it was all over the news; all actors, all staff members, AND all audience members had disappeared from the show… with only his friend being left behind. There was no explanation for any of it, and people were speculating for weeks after.

Worst, still, was that he wasn’t able to contact his friend for almost a full month because of everything that had happened. Even less so because he could no longer call him on his phone. It felt like a short eternity before he, finally, got back in contact with his friend.

But the news he was presented with after their short (albeit strained) talk about how they were both doing, was not something he’d been expecting.

“…hey… so… the whole company’s gone now… but I’ve actually been approached by a different company…”

“…that so? Well… good, I guess. I mean, if they can keep you in the business, why complain, hm?”

“…yeah.”

“…so, I guess I should be saying ‘good luck’, then, hm?”

“…the hell are you talking about?”

“Hm?”

“…you’re coming, too. Idiot…”

“…do I not get a say in it?”

“…you don’t want to, then?”

“Didn’t say that!”

“…so what’s your problem?”

“……well… I guess none… Fine, dear. You win.”

“Stop calling me that… asshole…”

“Hihi~ Love you too, dear~”

…If only he knew just what they were just walking straight into…

Even so… he likely wouldn’t have done things differently anyway…

**Author's Note:**

> From here on the MAIN story will begin, with several sidestories becoming available as they're being made. So watch this sphere.


End file.
